Light's Gift
by fulgurainsomnis
Summary: When Noctis comes home to find Lightning asleep in his room, he knows she wants something. What he doesn't expect is for the stoic soldier to be giving instead of asking. LIGHTIS.
1. Chapter 1

_I got sudden inspiration for this. I have no idea where I'm going to go with this, but I'm sure something will come to me._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Most unfortunately, I do not own Final Fantasy._

I walked into my room, smiling at the sight that greeted me. Curled up in my bed was Lightning, sleeping soundly. Her facial features were soft and relaxed, differing greatly from her usual hard expressions. It looked like she had been waiting for me and had fallen asleep, seeing as she was lying on top of the covers. Why would she have been waiting for me? She doesn't even like me that much. We're barely acquaintances.

She was still in her Guardian Corps uniform, meaning she must have been working late today. I agreed with Serah that Light worked way too much. She took a day off only when her boss practically shoved her home and told her to relax. I laughed lightly at the thought of Amodar actually dragging her home. He probably would do it, especially since Lightning is so stubborn about working every second she can.

I walked over to my bed and picked her up as carefully as I could, not wanting to wake her. I carried her to her room and gently lay her on her bed, covering her with the blankets. I examined her once more. Who knew when I would get another chance to see her actually at peace? I walked out of the room and quietly shut the door.

"What were you doing in there?"

My head snapped to look over at the soldier's little sister. She had bags overflowing with groceries in her arms, a mildly curious expression on her face. Snow walked in, arms adorned with groceries as well, casting me a friendly grin. That explained why they weren't home yet.

"Nothing," I responded nonchalantly, quickly heading to my room.

"Wait, were you in _Light's_ room?" Snow asked with wide eyes. "Damn, you must not care about your life!"

I rolled my eyes. One thing Lightning and I would always agree on would be Snow's idiocy. She definitely didn't like me that much, but she respected me at least, enough not to kill me just for being in her room.

"She was asleep in my room. I think she'd rather sleep in her own bed, don't you?"

As he was about to answer, Serah sighed and told him, "It was a rhetorical question, honey."

He grinned sheepishly. "Oh, right. I knew that."

I ignored him and went back to my room, plopping down on my bed and staring at my black ceiling. I like the color black, a lot. I wasn't depressed or anything, like Prompto always loved to tease me about. I just liked dark colors, like black, midnight blue, and dark red. My room and wardrobe strongly reflected this, neither possessing many bright colors.

I heard the clap of thunder outside. I turned my head to gaze out my window, seeing lightning flashing rapidly. The weather forecasts had said that there would be thunderstorms tonight, but I didn't expect them to come on so quickly and violently.

"It sure is raining hard, huh?" Serah asked from my door.

I turned to look at her. "Is there something you wanted?"

She shook her head and sat next to me. "Nah, I just wanted to talk to you. Snow's busy watching some show and I'm bored."

"Ah." I gave my attention back to the sky. "So what do you want to talk about then?"

"I don't know," she responded with a small laugh. "I guess I'm still curious as to why Claire would be waiting for you to get home. I mean, she never talks about you. Then again, she never talks about anything really."

I let out a chuckle, knowing that the stoic soldier didn't even talk to her own sister about some things. Partly because she was always at work and couldn't talk. Yet another reason she needed to take more time off. She needed to spend some quality time with her sister.

"She's a lot different from you," I commented. "Sometimes it's hard to remember that you two are sisters."

"I know what you mean. When Snow first met her, he thought that some demon had gone and possessed her." She laughed at the memory. "Sometimes it's hard to believe that he can be scary with how silly he is."

"I wouldn't use the word silly, but whatever works for you."

She punched my stomach weakly. I just laughed, because that wasn't even a real attempt to hurt me.

"Oh, be quiet you," she huffed.

"Hey, cheer up, I was only kidding."

"I know. So, why do _you _think Claire was waiting for you?"

I raised an eyebrow. She was bringing this up a lot, more than she would normally push a topic.

"How should I know? That girl's impossible to read."

She just smiled and stood up. "Okay, whatever you say."

With that, she walked out, closing the door softly behind her. I'd think about everything more tomorrow. Right now, all I wanted was to sleep. I closed my eyes, letting myself drift off into sleep.

_What do you guys think? Continue?_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own Final Fantasy._

I woke to the sound of my alarm clock beeping and a fist slamming on my door.

"Caelum! Wake the fuck up and turn off that damned clock!"

It was Light. Of course she'd be in a bad mood; she's not a morning person. I checked the time and realized it was two hours after I had set my alarm clock to go off. How had I slept through that for _two hours_? I quickly reached over and turned it off. Lightning stopped banging on my door.

"God, how did you even sleep through that for two minutes?"

"How should I know?" I responded groggily.

"It even woke Snow up."

I just ignored that and stood. I'd argue with her later, once I was actually awake. I dragged myself out of bed and got dressed. I fixed my hair and headed into the kitchen, where Serah was making breakfast as usual. I took my usual seat. Light sat beside me.

"Seriously, how Caelum?"

"For the last time, call me by my first name."

"No. And make sure it doesn't happen again."

My ears caught the sound of chattering outside. That's right; it was Saturday, wasn't it?

Every Saturday morning everyone got together to have breakfast. Not everyone would attend regularly, but almost everyone was there every time. Except for Ignis, he never came. It hurt Serah's feelings. Note to self: kill Ignis for hurting Serah's feelings.

Fang and Vanille walked in without knocking. They were here so often it was like their second home. Prompto followed shortly after Vanille, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. They had been dating for quite a while now. He shot me a playful grin like he always did. I gave a little smile, but that was all.

"And Noct isn't smiling, meaning something weird happened," he stated matter-of-factly. "So, what was it?"

"None of your business. Now shut up and sit down."

Prompto made a mock-growling sound. I just rolled my eyes and gave him a not-so-friendly gesture. He chuckled and sat down beside me, Vanille taking her respective seat on the other side of him.

"I bet you're just jealous of me and Vanille."

Vanille blushed and punched his bicep weakly.

"Don't say stuff like that!" she complained with a pout.

Fang joined Prompto in his laughter this time, shaking her head at her little sister.

"Vanille, aren't you a little old now to be pouting?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Just let her," Fang said with a wink. "She's got the cute look anyway."

I shrugged and watched as the rest of our friends walked in. Sazh and Dajh came in, followed closely by Hope. Snow came last; he had gone to pick up Hope, since he still didn't have his license. Serah poked her head out of the kitchen.

"Claire, could you give me hand?"

Light nodded and stood, walking into the kitchen and disappearing from my sight. Prompto elbowed me gently.

"Since when did you start paying so much attention to Lightning?"

"I'm not paying anymore attention to her than I normally do."

He shook his head. "So now you're denying it? She's in your thoughts, I can tell."

He was right. I couldn't stop thinking about why she had been waiting. She had probably just wanted something from me, but another part of my mind hoped that she wanted something else.

_You know you like her._

_Shut up, I do not._

_Did I mention your thoughts sound like a teenage girl's?_

_I am not arguing about this with_ you.

Prompto grinned. "You're having internal conflict, aren't you? _Aren't you_?"

I stood up. "Okay, I'm skipping breakfast."

I headed outside and closed the door behind me, taking in a deep breath of fresh air. I really just needed some time alone so I could think. I decided to go to a park I discovered one day when I was in a horrible mood. It helped me clear my mind so I could think straight. I sat on the edge of the fountain and gazed up at the blue sky. I personally preferred night skies, but the day was pretty too. I closed my eyes, letting the sun warm my skin.

_Thud._

I opened my eyes to see Hope lying in front of me. He was rubbing a small scrape on his knee. The kid could be so clumsy sometimes, but Lightning could see the potential in him.

"Why'd you follow me Hope?" I asked.

"Because Light seemed upset when you left."

I raised an eyebrow. So she was trying to tell me something last night, not just ask me for something like she usually did.

"She was upset, huh?"

"Well, not visibly, but I could feel that she was."

Right, she and Hope had a strong bond. Kind of like mother and son.

"Go on back," I told him sternly. "I'll be back in a few hours tops."

"Alright..."

He headed out of my sight. I leaned my head back and let clouds fill my vision as I zoned out. For the next two hours, I thought of nothing but Light.


	3. Chapter 3

_I'm sorry if my interpretation of Noctis is sucky. All I know about him is from trailers I've watched and other fics I've read. I think he's pretty normal for the most part, but he has his own dark side, like most of us do. If you have any suggestions on how to make Noctis better, please let me know!_

_**Disclaimer: **__We all know I don't own Final Fantasy._

I went home three hours later. I decided to kill time by browsing through random stores and going to a café. The cashier was hitting on me…and it was a guy. But that's not very important. I ended up buying seven new CDs. Prompto always made fun of me for still buying CDs. Excuse me for liking to have the disc in case my computer crashed.

"Caelum, you ass!"

I looked up from the doorknob in time to dodge…was that a frying pan? She threw a _frying pan_ at me? I glanced over at the calmly furious Farron. Only Lightning could be serenely violent, and I have no idea how she did it.

"What did I do this time?" I asked, only mildly interested to hear her answer.

"You know damn well what you did. It was _your_ turn to clean up, but since you left like a little baby because Prompto teased you a little, I got stuck doing it two weeks in a row."

I sighed deeply and held the bridge of my nose between two fingers. Honestly, she got upset over the stupidest things.

"Fine, then I'll take the next two weeks and we'll be even, how's that?"

"Or," she started, crossing her arms, "you could take the next two months and I might actually be nice to you."

I rolled my eyes. "As tempting as that is, no."

The sound of bubbly pop music came blaring down from Serah's room. That only meant one thing: Vanille was still over and was most likely spending the night. Goodbye perfectly good night of sleep.

"_Step into the rainbow, find another view. Chase the tender light, borders let's cross over…"_

"Serah!" the elder Farron yelled up the stairs. "If you're going to play music, play something good!"

Vanille's pouting face appeared from around the corner. "Hey! This is perfectly good music. _You_ just like depressing music."

"For the last time, Evanescence is not depressing, and that's not all I listen to."

"All their songs are about death and stuff like that!" Vanille argued. "I mean, come on! 'Bring Me To Life'? 'Even in Death'?"

"What about 'Eternal'?" I asked innocently. "Or 'Listen to the Rain'?"

"One of them is instrumental! And they both have rain pouring in the background!"

"Rain has a beauty and passion all its own," I stated.

"Whatever." With that, she went back into Serah's room and put on some Japanese band. Lightning massaged her temples gently with the tips of her fingers.

Lightning never relaxed. Ever. She was always stressed out about work, or money, or something. It was no surprise that she didn't deal with nonsense.

"Caelum."

"What is it? And would you _please_ call me Noctis? Honestly, it's been two years since we met."

"No, and I need you to play the piano."

I raised an eyebrow. She always told me to shut up whenever I played. She said it gave her headaches. How could something as beautiful as the piano give someone headaches? I will never understand her.

As if she could hear my thoughts, she looked me in the eyes and replied to the question I never asked. "It's actually very soothing. It could lull the most bloodthirsty creature alive into a hundred-year sleep."

I grinned. "I knew it. No one can resist my amazing piano skills."

She rolled her eyes. "Just play the damned thing."

I walked over to the small piano we had gotten, after much help of convincing Light from Serah. I pushed up the cover and sat at the bench. I ran my fingers over the keys in a few quick warm-ups. I then realized that I had no idea what Lightning would want me to play.

"So what song would you like to hear?"

"Anything, as long as it's calm and soothing."

"That doesn't help me much, but I'll do my best."

My fingers glided effortlessly along the keys as I began to play. A faint smile came across the soldier's face as she sat down in the nearby chair. She obviously recognized the song.

"Leave it to you to play something like 'Brave Song'."

"Didn't you say you liked this song because it was relaxing?"

She nodded, leaning her head back gently. It was rare that she relaxed when she was alone. For her to actually let herself relax in front of me let me know that she didn't mind me as much as she made everyone think. Maybe the way she acted toward me was some weird "let's be friends" thing for her. Or maybe not, who knows? She's impossible to read.

"Hey, Noctis?"

I was about to respond when I realized that she used my first name for the first time ever. My eyes widened a little as I looked over at her and stopped playing.

"You used my first name."

"Yes I did. But if you react like this every time I use it, it's right back to Caelum."

"Fair enough, I suppose."

"Keep playing."

I rolled my eyes at her order, but continued anyway. Best to be on her good side, especially now that she was acting more like a friend than a housemate. Well, as much of a friend as the stoic girl could be. I noticed that the music coming from Serah's room had stopped a while ago. I glanced up to the top of the stairs to see a redhead and a pinkette peeking around the corner, watching us intently. I chuckled a bit. Of course they'd be watching.

Serah caught my eye and put a single finger to her lips in a shushing action. I gave a little smile, clearly saying that my lips were sealed.

"Noctis, you stopped playing."

I looked back over at Light. She looked disappointed that I had stopped.

"Well, I guess I can't keep playing forever."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

That was the first time I noticed she had something in her pocket. It was there since the beginning of the day, I realized. Did it have something to do with why she was in my room last night?

_The song Noctis was playing was "Brave Song" from Angel Beats! It's a beautiful song, and a wonderful anime. I highly recommend it. Oh, and the song Serah and Vanille were listening to was the Sunleth Waterscape, but that was pretty obvious. Also, I was thinking of doing a small flashback scene from Lightning's point of view. It would be on the day she got the mysterious item in her pocket. Should I do it?_

_Thanks for reading, guys! It really means a lot to me, and thanks to the people who have reviewed. You're all awesome!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Flashback scenes are charming, aren't they? I think so at least. From Light's POV._

_**Disclaimer: **__I'll own Final Fantasy when pigs fly._

"_No, no, no!" the bubbly redhead yelled loudly with a pout. "Light, you really do not get it!"_

_I scowled. It's not like I had ever done anything like this for anyone else. Honestly, she expected me to know everything just because I was older than her, didn't she?_

"_Shouldn't you know at least a little about it?" she asked._

"_I don't do things like this."_

"_Well isn't that obvious!"_

_I rolled my eyes. "Let's just keep looking."_

_Vanille let out a little "hmph" and continued browsing through the various items lining the shelves. I don't know how she convinced me to bring her along. I didn't trust her to go grocery shopping, so why would I even think about trusting her with something like this? I shook my head with a little sigh._

"_You know, if you weren't so emotionless all the time, this might be easier," she reminded me for the third time that day._

"_I get it."_

_She hummed to herself as she kept looking. I stared at the items with disinterest, knowing very well that he wouldn't like any of them. They weren't worthy of my appreciation, so they would never be good enough. Vanille noticed my bored gaze and pouted._

"_Really? Still nothing?"_

_I nodded. "Nothing here will work."_

_She sighed heavily. "You really are horribly stubborn about finding something perfect."_

"_Damn right."_

_We headed out of the store and into the next. Hopefully it held something promising. Vanille kept showing me various things she thought he would like, but I turned them all down. Was there nothing good enough? Honestly, we had gone to at least ten stores that day. Maybe I'd just have to go by myself tomorrow. I always seemed more attentive without Ms. Hyper-Bubbliness around._

"_Light. Light!" said redhead called, waving a hand in front of my face. "Cocoon calling Lightning!"_

_I snapped out of my thoughts and scowled when I noticed she used the same little call she had used for Snow. I know I was being ridiculous, but I really hated him._

"_Do _not_ say that to me ever again."_

_She looked confused for a minute, but then realized why I was mad and rolled her eyes._

"_Seriously? Maker…and _I'm _the kid."_

_I ignored her comment and walked off to the music section. I think he had said he liked music. I'm guessing, considering he plays piano. My eyes scanned the different titles and genres as a worker walked up to me._

"_Hello, my name is Celsus. Is there anything I can help you with ma'am?"_

_I glanced over at him. "I suppose so. I'm looking for a gift."_

"_For who? Your boyfriend?"_

_I scoffed. "No, a friend."_

"_Oh, alright. What does this friend of yours like?"_

_I looked up at the ceiling as I mulled over the few things I knew about him. Maybe listening to Serah talk about him might have been helpful. I really could be an idiot sometimes; nowhere near as idiotic as Snow though. I shuddered at the thought as I gathered together what little information I had._

"_He plays piano, but he's not a classical music freak. He likes dark colors, but he's not Goth or emo. In fact, he's generally in a good mood."_

"_Hm, I see where you would be having a problem," Celsus replied. "He doesn't seem to be the easiest to shop for."_

_I nodded. "Exactly."_

"_Clothes obviously won't cut it, so maybe something more electronic?"_

"_No, that won't work."_

"_Okay, um…Maker," he said with a little laugh. "This'll be harder than I thought."_

"_This is the eleventh store I've been to today," I informed him._

_His eyes widened. "Seriously?"_

_I nodded once again. Celsus crossed his arms over his chest as he thought. I was amazed he would still be helping me, even when he found out just how difficult it would be to find something good. The corner of my mouth twitched up a little. I had a feeling that this store would have exactly what I was looking for. As I predicted, Celsus looked back at me with a grin._

"_I think I have something that's perfect."_

_He led me over to the…toy section? I raised an eyebrow at him._

"_What are we doing in the toy section?"_

"_I kept the last of a certain product in here."_

_He took a few dolls off the shelves and reached his arm in. When he pulled it out, he was holding an item so incredibly perfect I actually smiled. I took it gently, running my fingers along it and examining it closely._

"_This is exactly what I've been looking for."_

"_Well let me ring you up then."_

_I purchased the item and walked outside. Vanille was waiting for me, a pout clear as day adorning her features. She put her hands on her hips in a motherly fashion, causing me to shake slightly with a silent chuckle._

"_Finally! Did you at least find something good?"_

"_No," I responded._

_She gaped at me. "Please tell me you're kidding!"_

"_I'm not." Just as she was about to start lecturing me on settling for something, I coolly said, "I found something _perfect_."_

_She immediately brightened. "Seriously?"_

_As I nodded, she hugged me so hard I almost couldn't breathe. The girl was surprisingly strong for her age and size._

"_Vanille, can you let me go so we can go home?"_

"_Mhm!" She quickly released me and we headed home, the bag containing the all-too-perfect gift clutched tightly in my hand._


	5. Chapter 5

_Oh my goodness, so long since I have updated. I'm sorry to leave you with just that little flashback. This chapter has some current event Lightning POV. Oh, and for those of you dying of curiosity, the gift shall be revealed in chapter 7. I actually have something planned for once instead of totally winging it. Sorry to those hoping it'd be revealed this chapter. Thanks for reviewing guys, it really makes me happy._

_For those not familiar with musical language, I'll write a quick guide._

_Measure: a section of music, commonly used as a reference for starting and/or stopping a song_

_Beat: counting used for keeping rhythm of music_

_Time Signature: a fraction written at the beginning of a composition, indicating how many beats are in each measure_

_Scale: a run through of all the notes in a key; if I were in the key of C, I would start with the note of C_

_Legato: smooth and connected_

_Staccato: short and disconnected_

_Pianissimo: very soft_

_Piano: soft_

_Mezzo Piano: medium soft_

_Mezzo Forte: medium loud_

_Forte: loud_

_Fortissimo: very loud_

_I happened to write this chapter while listening to Smile by Avril Lavigne. It inspired me to let some more emotion be seen from Light. If you have not heard the song, I highly recommend it._

_Long, A/N is long._

_**Disclaimer: **__I am but a humble author. I do not own any part of Final Fantasy._

"So Claire was actually asking you to play for her?" Serah asked for confirmation. I gave her a little nod and a smile spread across her face. "I always knew she had a soft spot for the piano. She always wanted to learn how to play when we were little, but we she never had the time or gil for lessons."

"Really?" Vanille asked as she was reading a magazine article. It looked like it was about shoes, but I didn't really care. "She never came across as a music lover."

Serah nodded and went on to explain Lightning's love of the arts. It made my mind wander. If she loved music so much, why become a soldier? Probably because of the high pay and respect that came with it. She always felt like she needed to represent and protect her little sister. She didn't seem to notice what a mature young adult Serah had become. I shook my head at my thoughts, mentally scolding the soldier for not accomplishing her own dreams.

"Hey, Noctis?" Serah asked with a curious expression as Vanille waved a hand in front of my face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a bit tired I guess," I easily lied.

"Oh, okay," the two said in unison.

I stood up from my position on the couch, straightening out my shirt. "I'll be playing if you guys need me."

"Alright, see you."

I walked out into the entrance of the house where the piano was positioned against the wall opposite the door. As I pulled out the bench, I simultaneously lifted up the lid covering the beautiful ivory keys. I did love the piano. It had always been there for me. I grinned as a certain thought entered my mind.

"_Don't forget that it's a major chick magnet," Prompto had told me. "The piano is seriously one of the most romantic instruments in the world."_

"_You're a hopeless romantic," Ignis commented, shaking his head._

"_At least I have a girlfriend, gay boy."_

"_For the last time, I am not gay."_

Those two argued so often. It wasn't even funny how many times they fought in a day. I opened the bench and carefully extracted a music book. It was the score of _Phantom of the Opera._ I was working on a piece for a show arranged by none other than Prompto. He said he wanted to showcase raw talent and apparently he thought I had it.

In case I hadn't mentioned before, Prompto was the owner of a very successful agency. They helped talents of all sorts; musicians, actors, dancers. You named it, they worked with them. Every year they had an annual showcase of sorts to draw in new talents. They showed off their best clients. I was not a client, but Prompto seemed to be lacking in the area of pianists lately, so I agreed to the show.

I placed the music on the stand in front of me, positioning it just right. I found my placement and began playing the beautiful melody. I didn't truly need the music anymore; I knew the song by heart. My eyes slipped closed as I immersed myself in the music.

A whisper of laughter in my ear. "'Music of the Night'? How fitting."

My fingers froze as my head whipped around to find none other than Lightning Farron standing behind me, a ghost of a smile on her face. It was captivating in a way, the way she smiled. It wasn't sad, just faint and soft, subtle, like the scent of a rose. You had to pay attention to catch it.

"Your name means 'night', doesn't it?" she continued, sliding onto the bench beside me. "It's not very surprising you chose this song."

"Prompto picked it," I replied.

She made a little "uh huh" sound as she gently ran her fingers over the keys, pressing a few experimentally. I let a smile slip onto my face as I watched her explore the instrument. It was like a little kid feeling water for the first time. I played a simple scale for her, watching her eyes follow my hands actions and trying to memorize them.

"Want me to teach you?" I asked.

She looked at me, her eyes carefully expressionless, but I could tell she was celebrating on the inside. I might finally be able to connect with her. The piano really did work wonders.

"That would be nice I suppose. Thank you."

I quickly pulled out a beginner's piano book. In my free time I taught piano lessons. It made some extra gil.

"This," I started, pointing to a small introductory section, "will teach you everything you need to know about the basics. Once you have them down, I'll start really teaching you."

Her eyes widened briefly before narrowing into a glare. "I want a lesson, Caelum. I don't want to read some book."

So it was back to my last name, was it? A little smirk slipped onto my face. She was on my turf of expertise now, and if she thought she could just make demands, she had another thing coming.

"If you want a lesson, that'll be 500 gil per half hour."

"What the hell kind of price is that?"

"In case you did not know, that is quite cheap for piano lessons. Most professionals would charge double that for a half hour."

She let out a low growl before muttering a "fine". I grinned and quickly began teaching her the basics. She was a quick learner, easily catching on to the beginning few songs. They were very simple, all being mezzo forte and in a simple time signature. Within a half hour, she had mastered the basics. I would have been lying if I said I wasn't impressed. Instruments were not easy to play, none of them were.

"Well done," I congratulated her. "We'll have another session tomorrow."

Lightning nodded and stood, that subtle smile on her lips once more. She held out her hand in expectation of a friendly handshake.

"Can we be like normal people and just hug?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I guess."

I wrapped my arms around her waist. She hesitated before returning the gesture with one arm.

"Cae- er, Noctis," she started. "Thanks."

"No problem, Lightning."

She pulled away and turned towards her room. She told me something as she walked out of the room. The words brought a smile to my face. That might have been the closest she had ever come to saying that we were friends.

* * *

><p>"<em>Call me Light."<em>

Why had I said that? Not that I really regret it. As soon as I got close enough to him, I would be able to give him that oh so special present. The thought of that made a genuine smile spread across my face. With a little more effort, I would be ready to give it to him.

Serah, who was doing laundry, caught sight of my smile and nearly dropped her basket. A bright smile quickly made itself present on her features.

"Claire!"

I put a finger over her mouth to shush her. "You can freak out all you want later."

She moved my hand away. "Why? What's happening later?"

I let out a soft, short breath. "I'll embarrass myself to no end."


End file.
